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Italian Father Piero Gheddo said that the low birth rate among indigenous Europeans combined with an unprecedented wave of Muslim immigrants with large families could see Europe becoming dominated by Islam in the space of a few generations.

"The challenge must be taken seriously," said Father Gheddo, of the Vatican's Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions.

"Certainly from a demographic point of view, as it is clear to everyone that Italians are decreasing by 120,000 or 130,000 persons a year because of abortion and broken families – while among the more than 200,000 legal immigrants a year in Italy, more than half are Muslims and Muslim families, which have a much higher level of growth."

He said: "Newspapers and television programmes never speak of this. However, an answer must be given above all in the religious and cultural fields and in the area of identity."

The priest blamed Christians for failing to live up to their own beliefs and helping to create a "religious vacuum" which was being filled by Islam.

He predicted that Islam would "sooner rather than later conquer the majority in Europe".

"The fact is that, as a people, we are becoming ever more pagan and the religious vacuum is inevitably filled by other proposals and religious forces," he said.